A few months ago I was sitting out on my back porch reading a book and intermittently checking Twitter when I noticed NY Times best selling writer, John Scalzi, (author of, among many other things the very popular novel Redshirts), say something like "If I reach 30,000 Twitter followers, I shall post a photograph of myself covered in buttercream frosting." And of course I chimed in "I shall take the photo." Eventually Neil Gaiman got involved and, I think @NickSagan might have suggested that the frosting be applied by roller derby girls, or that might have been me, or Fablor. I don't remember.

To make a long story short. I eventually decided to do an homage to The Invisible Man because, you know, it's Science Fiction! We met up in Neil's front lawn early in August and hilarity ensued.

There are posters of this available which you should buy because it's awesome and cool and the money is divided between the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund for science fiction writers and, my own favorite, City Kitties.

The real reason was that I'd already assembled the invisible man costume and proper amount of frosting. I had a full-length plan which I'd sent around a month before but it was incredibly elaboriate and everybody (me included) was like "I don't want to be doing this for six hours." We were fairly far from the beehives and I actually suspect they wouldn't have been able to get their stingers through that much frosting. It would have been like a sticky, sugary bee suit.

Yet the house is far enough from the hives (although there is one close to the house, now that I think about it - I don't know if it has been revived this year). Still. He is entirely entitled to object to potential stings. Especially in sensitive areas.